Beer Making

BEER BREWING

WHAT IS BEER?

Beer is a fermented alcoholic beverage made up of malted barley and flavoured with hops. In general, beers are divided into two major categories: LAGERS and ALES.

LAGERS are produced with bottom-fermenting strains of yeast at colder temperatures than ales (5 – 15° C). This cooler environment inhibits the natural production of esters and other fermentation byproducts, creating a cleaner-tasting product.

ALES are distinguished by the use of top-fermenting yeast strains. These strains perform at warmer temperatures (18 – 25° C), the ferments are faster and fermentation byproducts are generally more evident. Ales tend to have a very pronounced palate where esters and fruity qualities are part of the character.

Note: In order to ferment at colder temperatures, the use of a lager yeast is essential. Beer kit concentrates, whether an ale or a lager type, are usually supplied with an ale yeast.

BREWING

You have options for brewing beer from a kit, from all-grain or from a combination of the two.
A BEER KIT is unfermented wort that is ready to ferment to make beer. It is available either in a 23 liter, non-concentrated format - which requires no addition of water or sugar, or in a concentrated format which requires the addition of water but may or may not need the addition of sugar.
To obtain a concentrate, the wort is usually heated to evaporate most of the water. The end result is a liquid malt extract (either hoped or not) or if all the water is extracted, a powdered malt extract (usually unhoped).

3 steps to making beer:

1. PRIMARY FERMENTATION – when the sugars that are present in the wort are converted by the yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This stage lasts for about 4 to 7 days.

2. SECONDARY FERMENATION – when the beer is transferred from a primary fermentation vessel (food grade bucket) into a secondary vessel (carboy) by siphoning or racking. This stage lasts for about two weeks.

3. BOTTLING – when the beer is siphoned into bottles with the addition of dextrose (bottling sugar) and capped or into a keg. If the beer is bottled, wait for about two weeks and then enjoy!

Here is a list of the beer kits that we offer: (Each beer kit yields 23 liters of finished product.)